The Alienware M17x is the complete mobile gaming package, as its all-metallic look can stand in the spotlight with its parts.

Most hardcore gamers couldn't care less about how a gaming laptop looks. Give them the fastest processor and most powerful 3D graphics card and let them get on with the show. While most gaming laptop manufacturers would agree (they would buy the bulkiest bare-bone chassis from a Taiwanese factory and customize it with their own parts), Alienware is the one company that goes against the grain. The Alienware M17x ($4,850 direct) is now the benchmark of gaming laptop designs, as its frame is completely covered in aluminum metalsa look reminiscent of an all-terrain vehicle. Even after focusing much of its attention on design, Alienware didn't forget about its processing roots: An Intel Extreme Quad core processor and the ability to switch between a low-powered and a ridiculously powerful Nvidia graphics card deliver a gaming punch like no other. Yeah, it'll cost you a bundle, but we're still giving it the Editors' Choice in the gaming category.

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The bezel looks like the front grill of the Batmobile, or inspired by some other rugged automobile. It's a departure from the boxy look of gaming laptops like the Falcon Northwest Fragbook DRX and Gateway P-7808u FX Edition, as the M17x's front side slopes downward at 45 degrees. Likewise, the back of the unit has a reverse slope, giving the entire frame a weird rhomboid look. The shape of the system is accentuated by an all- metallic ensemble. Gaming systems like the Sager NP8662 use a brushed aluminum lid, with plastics making up its base; the M17x is completely covered in metals, and is more elegant than any other gaming laptop I've reviewed, though not impervious to the scratches and smudges that are all too common on plastic frames. You'd be hard pressed to find any exposed screws on its underside (the M17x has them tucked away neatly). It's a heavy system, too, because of the heavy metals: The M17x tips the scales at 12.5 pounds, about half a pound heavier than the monstrous Fragbook DRX (12 lbs). In fact, it's one of the heaviest gaming laptops, outweighing even the P-7808u (8.9 lbs) and the Asus G71G-Q1 (9.1 lbs).

Every vent, button, and key is implanted with LED lighting. The illuminated keyboard and the LED lining around the touchpad are in plain sight and leap out at you. Upon closer inspection, you'll notice that the power button, the feather touch keys, and its signature alien head logo are also illuminated. Even more brilliant is that each of these pieces can be coordinated with up to 20 different colors. The keyboard and adjacent numeric keypad themselves are separated into four quadrants, each of which can be infused with a different color. All of this is done through Alienware's Command Centera software interface that lets you control the lighting effects, among other system settings. The full-size keyboard and the textured touchpad are engineered to perfection, though the mouse buttons should've been less resistant.

Features

Oddly, the 17-inch widescreen, which is usually a sight to behold on a gaming laptop, is one of the M17x's weaker points. While the intense brightness levels (backed by two CCFL lamps) and awe-inspiring 1,920-by-1,200 resolution are top-notch, the screen itself has the characteristics of a mirror. The glare is magnified because the entire screenincluding the surrounding black bordersis covered in glass. Half the time I was trying not to take notice of my reflection. Changing the black Alienware background and minimizing surrounding light sources should help reduce glare.

Every peripheral or gadget you own can likely be plugged into the M17x. It has a total of five USB ports, one of which is an eSATA combo port for storage expansion. Not that you'll need it, since this system is configured with two 500GB drives, which are striped in RAID 0, for a total of 1 Terabyte worth of storage. It has three video output portsnew and old school: Both Displayport and HDMI outputs are present, as well as the legacy VGA-Out. It doesn't have an internal TV tuner like the Fragbook DRX, but there is an ExpressCard TV tuner option available ($76). The slot-load optical drive is a Blu-ray burner, but you're better off with the cheaper BD-Rom (-$150) or dual-layer DVD burner (-$300).

Surrounded by cool metals, the M17x is basically one giant heat sink. All this thermal protection, as well as numerous fans and vents, are needed to cool the scorching parts. The M17x runs a 2.53GHz, Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300. Ignore the Gigahertz rating for a minute, and realize it bears four cores and Intel's "Extreme" moniker, which basically means that it's sanctioned for overclocking (in the system's BIOS). It's the most powerful mobile processor available right now. The next step up would be the Fragbook's Intel Core i7 optionsdesktop processors, mind you. It's a more powerful processor than the Core 2 Quad Q9000 found in the Asus G71G-Q1, not to mention a lot more expensive. It's a $1,000 part, but you can easily downgrade to a less expensive processor that can achieve similar frame rates.

Performance

As most gamers will tell you, the key to 3D prowess is not in the processor, but in the graphics card. The M17x performed like a rock star in our 3D benchmark tests, thanks to three Nvidia graphics cards. Two of those three GPUsthe GeForce 280M GTXare identical and arranged in Nvidia's SLI technology; the other is an integrated Nvidia GeForce 9400M chipset that you can switch to when you're not running 3D-intensive task. This graphics switching technology is controlled by an icon located in the task bar, where you can select the appropriate graphics mode. In 3DMark06 tests, the M17x trailed the Fragbook DRX in low-resolution settings (The CPU drives frame rates at low resolutions and the desktop Core i7 is a more powerful processor than the M17x's mobile CPU). However, at native resolution (1,920 by 1,200), the M17x devoured its peers in 3DMark06, Crysis, and World in Conflict tests. A 12,000 3Dmark06 score is rarely seen at this resolution, so give the M17x props for hitting these numbers.

In CPU-intensive tests like video encoding and Cinbench R10, the M17x was no match for the Fragbook's Core i7 processor. However, it beat out every other system in this group, including the Gateway P7808u, Asus G71G-Q1, and Alienware M17. Photoshop CS4 tests placed second in this group, despite having the highest memory count (8GB DDR3); both the Fragbook and the Asus G71G-Q1 were tested with 6GB of memory.

Even though Alienware found the biggest battery (85Wh) available for the M17x, it couldn't keep up with its battery-guzzling parts, namely the processor and SLI graphics cards. The M17x scored just 1 hour, 25 minutes in MobileMark 2007. You can get into the 2- to 3-hour range by changing the graphics mode to the 9400M graphics chipset, though.

You can probably find numerous gaming boutique houses that can pile in the fastest parts known to man, but their generic boxes, with a fresh coat of paint, will all eventually look the same and tired after a while. The Alienware M17x is the complete package, as its looks can stand in the spotlight with its parts. Though it's not a Core i7 processor, the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300 is the fastest on the mobile side. Meanwhile, the GeForce 280M GTX graphics cards, arranged in SLI, are the cream of the crop. And if this configuration is too steep for your pockets, Alienware's Web site will let you add and remove parts until you get to a desired price point.

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About the Author

Cisco Cheng is the Lead Analyst of the laptop team at PCMag.com. He’s a one-man wrecking crew who tests and writes about anything considered a laptop (yes, even netbooks). He’s been with PC Mag for over 10 years and gets occasional headaches from all the technical knowledge he has absorbed during that time. He’d still be snowboarding and playing ba... See Full Bio

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